Color Visualization To Dampen Overwhelm

This practice leads you through a color visualization that is research-proven to decrease activity in the amygdala - the center of your brain that responds to stress and fear. This process helps with lowering your cortisol levels to allow emotional processing to occur in a non-verbal way. Background music by Liam Wilkinson.

Transcript

Hello my friends and welcome to this practice. Of color visualization. To turn your mind away from stress and tension. I invite you to find a comfortable position for your body. Where you can stay for the next couple of minutes. You can close your eyes or you can also find a soft area to gaze. And let's start by. . . Tuning into how we're doing at this moment. I invite you to take a breath in. And out. And gently tune into how it feels like to breathe at this moment. Perhaps your breath is shallow. Perhaps they are quick. However you are breathing. I invite you to be curious. And see if you can breathe. Just a little bit deeper. A little bit slower. There is no need to force anything. But if you can, Imagine your breath traveling all the way down to your belly. And as you exhale. Imagine all of your burdens, All of your overwhelms. Travel out of your body with your breath. Continue with this process. And now I invite you to Identify how you are feeling at this moment. In a short sentence to yourself. You can say. . . I feel scared. I feel angry. I feel sad. I feel stressed. And without attaching your identity, Without attaching your story and narrative to it. Simply acknowledge your feelings. And as you breathe out, Allow that to go as well. Feelings are like clouds. As you breathe in and breathe out, Be reminded that These emotions and feelings aren't going to be here forever. If you feel attached to these emotions. If you feel some difficulty letting them go. There is no need to self-criticize. But I invite you to observe. See if you can loosen your grasp just a little bit. Perhaps clench and unclench your hands a couple of times. And as your palms and your fingers open, Simply be curious of how that feels like to you. Perhaps there is a little bit of a fear attached to it. Or perhaps you feel a sense of relief. Continue to breathe in and out. And with every single exhale. Letting go of all of your burdens and fears and overwhelms. Now allow your hands to relax. Breathe in. And out again. And see if you can loosen your jaw and your shoulders a little bit. And if there is any other area in your body that feels a little bit tight. Breathe into that space too. And see if you can. Create some space there as well. Now I invite you to visualize in your mind. A color that represents stress, Anger, Resentment, Grief to you. Maybe this emotion also has some texture. Is it rough? Or is it smooth? Is it warm or is it cold? What kind of shape does this color take? Now I invite you to Imagine a different color. That represents peace. Serenity. Imagine the shape of this color as well. Allow it to take form. Play around with the texture. Maybe it's furry. Maybe it's comforting. Maybe it feels like clouds. And now I invite you to hold both of these colors. In different shapes, Textures, Sensations. At the same time. And when you take the next breath in Try to imagine drawing this beautiful calm. Joyful, Loving color. In with your breath. And as you breathe out, Tune your attention to the angry color. The color that represents resentment or stress. As you breathe in again. Focus on the peaceful color. Feel its sensations. And as you breathe out. Tune your attention to the angry color again. Breathe in… Think about the comb color and breathe out. Imagine the angry color traveling with your breath. Out of you. Continue to breathe in and out. And alternate between these two colors. Notice if your mind is trying to attach meaning to these colors. We are intentionally using a different part of our brain to process emotions. If you are used to analyzing thinking. Creating stories. Around your experiences. Know that it's natural for your mind. To want to start to analyse. Gently invite your attention back. To the sensation of your breath. As your attention stays on the sensory cues. You are giving your mind a break. From the loop of stories that keeps on running. Now I invite you to imagine a neutral color. Something that feels balanced. In the middle of the two pendulum points. Something that feels like the calmness after a storm on a sea. Something that is mellow. And now as you breathe in and out. I invite you to keep your attention on this new color. Feel how steady your breath is. Imagine its texture as well. Imagine that being in the middle. Of rough and smooth. Of bright and mute. Of dense and loose. It is like a plateau. Steadying and unchanging. Breathe in. . . And now. And stay in this space of steadiness. You can now let this color go as well. And when you feel ready, You can open your eyes if you had them closed. And curiously observe how you're feeling at this moment. Have your emotions changed? As the intensity of your emotions changed. Loosen your expectation of how you should feel at this moment. Emotional processing takes time. If you would like to expand on this practice. I invite you to journal or sketch. The colors that you have visualized during this practice. And put them onto paper. And give them physical form. Thank you for joining me. In this practice.